NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Holding the lead at eight different times, the Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaker 69-60 in nonconference action Tuesday night at Allen Arena to Tennessee State.

The Lady Bisons held the lead as late as 7:11 in the second half and stayed within striking distance but were unable to take the leap as they fall to 1-8 on the year while the Lady Tigers improve to 4-6 on the season.

Turnovers and fouls plagued Lipscomb as they committed 20 turnovers that Tennessee State turned into 32 points. The Purple and Gold also committed 27 fouls that TSU turned into 24 made free throws.

After the Lady Tigers scored the first basket of the contest, Lipscomb rallied to take an eight point lead, started by a Presley Stastny 3-point basket. Jana Wright finished the short run with a layup to give Lipscomb the 14-6 lead with 13:19 remaining in the first half.

Playing most of the first stanza with a lead varying between six and points, the Lady Tigers slowly chipped away in the final four minutes of the half.

A pair of Jasmin Shuler free throws and a layup from Simone Hopes allowed TSU cut the Lady Bisons lead to three before a jumper by Wright pushed the lead back to five points with 2:06 remaining on the clock.

A 6-0 run by the Lady Tigers gave them a one-point lead heading into the intermission break at 26-25.

The Lady Bisons fell behind 31-25 in the early stages of the second half before a Kelli Smith 3-point basket briefly stopped the momentum.

Down 38-33 with 15:31 left in the game, Smith nailed another trey to cut the deficit to two points and a Hannah Phillips free throw trimmed the lead to just one with 14:16 remaining.

An Avery Jones jump shot and Brianna Lawrence trey briefly raised the Lady Tiger lead to six points before a 7-0 Lady Bisons run gave them the advantage at 45-43.

A pair of free throws from Stastny and a set of long-range baskets from Phillips and Alex Banks gave Lipscomb the lead with 11:49 remaining.

The two squads played hot potato with the lead over the next five minutes. Tennessee State took the lead for good when Lawrence hit a 3-pointer with 5:55 remaining to give the Lady Tigers a 56-53 lead.

Down five with 5:24 remaining, Stastny hit her fourth trey of the night to cut the deficit to 58-56.

The Lady Tigers jumped on consecutive offensive rebounds to increase the lead to four on a Kesi Hess layup. Phillips countered with a jumper in the paint to cut the lead back to two with 3:59 remaining at 60-58.

That was the closest the Lady Bisons would be able to get as the Lady Tigers hit their free throws down the stretch.

Stastny led the Lady Bisons with 16 points while Phillips chipped in 11 and seven rebounds. Shuler had a game-high 24 points for TSU including 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Lipscomb travels to Austin Peay on Friday for their final contest before the Christmas holiday. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.